Who would win in a fight? Mario, Sonic, Crash Bandicoot or Bill Gates?
While Nintendo, Sony and Sega have been fighting the video game war for years, Microsoft has yet to become a real competitor. All of that will change with the release of Microsoft's Xbox this fall.
"The most anticipated system is by far Microsoft's Xbox," said Rich Dixon, employee of Boomerang Gameware and owner of nine video game systems.
In comparison to other video game systems, the Xbox clearly prevails over all competition.
"Microsoft is already incredibly well-funded," said pre-med student Justin Scarbrough. "Gaming systems are becoming more and more like computers and Microsoft already dominates that market."
The Microsoft Xbox's processor speed clocked-in at a remarkable 733 Mhz, where the upcoming Nintendo Gamecube measured at 405 Mhz, and the Playstation 2 only came in with 300 Mhz.
The Xbox will also make a computer-related addition to the video game system market by including a built-in eight-gigabyte hard drive and WebTV.
Like the Playstation 2, the Xbox will be able to play CDs and DVDs. Nintendo is the only company that will not include a DVD player within its system. In fact, Nintendo's Gamecube (due for release in October) will not use the CD-format at all, but will instead use a smaller disk called a proprietary optical disk.
"Nintendo not having a DVD player will have little influence on its success," said sales and marketing major Brad Compton. "Nintendo has been historically better and people know that. (Nintendo) has been around for almost 20 years and has been able to keep up with the times."
Dixon also believes Nintendo's decision to exclude a DVD player was a wise one.
"The Gamecube will appeal to a completely different age group than the Xbox," Dixon said. "Nintendo is shooting at a younger gaming audience and are focusing more on quality games."
Nintendo's Gamecube will break new ground in the industry by making its new Gameboy Advance (a GameGear-like hand-held due for release this summer) compatible as a controller for the Gamecube. Because Nintendo controls over 90 percent of the hand-held market and has sold more Gameboys than the entire gaming industry has sold systems, it could play a key role in the Gamecube's success.
The release of the Xbox and the Gamecube will also greatly challenge the Playstation 2, which has already disappointed many gamers.
"The Playstation 2 hasn't changed the world of video games," Dixon said. "For one thing, it's hard to get your hands on one, and there's also a lack of games to choose from."
As for the Dreamcast, Sega has dropped out of the hardware race completely and will discontinue manufacturing Dreamcast consoles Saturday. Instead, Sega will produce games for the Xbox, Playstation and Gamecube.
Pricing in the upcoming systems also play an important role, Dixon said.
"We can look at the 3DO and the Saturn and see that you can't release a system priced over $299, no matter what," Dixon said.
Neither Nintendo or Microsoft have released pricing information.
However, it is speculated that like the Playstation 2, the Xbox will be priced at $299, while the Gamecube will be $199.
